1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a conference performed via a communications network, and more particularly to a communication conference method and communication conference terminal which use a handwritten input display device and carry out a communication conference session with a remote terminal by transferring handwritten input signals.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a communication conference device such as a video conference communication terminal exchanges handwritten input information and test information with respect to a remote terminal by displaying handwritten input data and text image data on a liquid crystal display having a large screen. In this way, a given communication conference session is carried out.
Conventionally, such a communication conference session is carried out with respect to a specific communication conference terminal. Hence, the communication conference terminals utilize the same number of pixels of the liquid crystal display used to display, for example, handwritten input information. Hence, the own terminal and the remote terminal have the same size of an area for which handwritten inputting is carried out and the number of pixels in the display area. In other words, there is no possibility that the terminals communicating with each other use different display sizes and/or different numbers of pixels.
However, recently, general-use data processing devices such as personal computers other than the terminals specifically used for communication conference have been capable of carrying out communication conference sessions by equipping these processing devices with hardware and software for realizing the functions of the communication conference terminal and connecting to the processing devices an audio input/output device for inputting and outputting audio signals and a video camera device and a video monitor device for inputting and outputting images.
The above-mentioned data processing devices may have different number of pixels displayable on the respective display devices (which may be CRT display devices). Hence, the data processing devices may have different numbers of pixels from the remote data processing devices. In this case, appropriate handwritten inputting and displaying cannot be carried out.